The Avoiding Series Boxset Read online

  “Lex, please,” he whined.

  She just glared harder. No way was he winning this. She had made the mistake of going home with Jennifer, her college dorm mate, for a weekend at the Club her freshman year of college. She had been completely humiliated when the rude, stuck-up, rich members found out that her parents weren’t wealthy. She had utterly refused to go back. A repeat performance was not something she ever wanted to endure.

  “No! You can forget it.”

  “It will be easy. I’ll just tell them that you’re an old friend of mine who’s here from out of town...which you are,” he added. “We don’t have to give them details. They don’t give a shit about anyone else besides themselves anyway.”

  “Oh, that’s real comforting,” she spat back at him.

  He strode across the room and stood directly in front of her. “You know what I mean. They aren’t going to care who you are or where you’re from as long as you are with the right people.”

  She tilted her head up to look into his face. “And you’re the right people?”

  He nodded. “Bekah is the right people.”

  Lexi’s stomach rolled at that sound. All she could picture about this girl was some blonde bimbo following daddy’s orders and spending daddy’s money. And, yes, she was certain Bekah was blonde. Jack always dated blondes. Not to mention, her parents were Country Clubbers. She groaned at the thought. No wonder Bekah was so worried about her parents cutting her off from their finances.

  “I’m not going,” she said crossing her arms and legs at the same time and putting on a determined face.

  “Okay, all right, I can’t make you,” he said throwing his hands up. “I’ll call her back and tell her you can’t make it. It would just be for a couple hours, but...whatever.” He turned to walk out of the room.

  Lexi shook her head from side to side arguing with herself. Did she really come all this way just to bicker with him? She had come here for him...even if she didn’t really want to admit it. She might as well go along with his charade.

  “Jack,” she said standing up and catching his arm before he exited.

  “Look, Lex, I get it. You’re a different person and blah, blah, blah. But come on, the direction you’re going in life, you could be one of these people someday. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? You could make some useful connections if you decide to head back to the South?” he asked speaking roughly to her. “So stop spouting bullshit. I know why you don’t want to go. I remember what happened with Jennifer. I thought you were better than letting one bad experience cloud your judgment.”

  Her jaw clenched as she listened to him rant. She didn’t want to hear any of this. “Okay. Okay. Jesus Christ, Jack, just shut up.”

  He paused and looked at her expectantly. For a second, she got lost in his gaze. His baby blues clouded over with grey as he let anger take him over. Something about that stare froze her in place.

  “Lex?” he asked. She hadn’t even realized he had been speaking. “Were you going to say something or just stare at me?” he asked amused.

  “Oh. Oh yeah,” Lexi mumbled recovering. “I was just going to say that I’ll go with you...you know...before you said all that shit.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah,” she said, shifting her weight uncomfortably.

  “Well, then, you better change.”

  Lexi glared at him. “Are we back here?”

  “Well, now that you’ve agreed, you have to change,” he snapped, but his anger was gone. He actually looked bemused that she had caved so easily. She tried to not let that shake her.

  Lexi changed tactics. “And what would you like to see me in?” she asked, cocking her head to the side and looking at him from beneath her side-swept bangs.

  The flirtatiousness in her voice was evident, but this was how she and Jack worked. They argued. They made up. They fucked...oh wait...she meant flirted. Damn it!

  “We don’t have time for that.” She glanced up at him innocently. “Or that. Now, go put on a sundress. You brought heels right?”

  Lexi shrugged. “Fine, whatever, but you know you owe me, right?”

  “I always repay my debts. Now go,” he said pushing her into the room.

  She could imagine this conversation if they were together. He would kiss her softly on the mouth and smack her ass as she went to change. He would follow her and ravish her body before they departed for their afternoon together. She sighed. Then again if they were together, he wouldn’t dare drag her to a stupid Country Club. Oh yeah, and that whole girlfriend problem.

  Lexi poured over her dress options. The brown sundress was too short for a Country Club especially if she was going as a guest. That left her to decide between a strapless ivory eyelet dress with a salmon-colored satin belt and a bright green spaghetti strap number that billowed out around her knees. Frustration started to take over as her indecision intensified. She didn’t really want to go to this brunch, and the fact that she had to put so much effort into her outfit made it even worse. Finally, she threw on the ivory dress with a pair of brown peep-toe mules leaving the green dress for a less judgmental audience.

  “Ready?” Jack asked as she entered the living room.

  He looked as gorgeous as ever. A rather expensive, as she could judge by the quality, baby blue button-up fit him perfectly even cutting in a bit at the waist to make him look leaner. A tri-colored blue, black, and silver tie hung from his neck to his light grey dress pants. The shirt brought out the blue of his eyes, and when they rested on her, they seemed to be a million times more intense than normal. She wasn’t sure if that was because of her or not.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  They set off for the twenty-minute drive out of town. A vast array of music filtered through the speakers. Lexi hummed along to what was playing as they pulled up to the gate of the Club.

  After being cleared by the overweight security guard, they drove past the million dollar homes and around the immaculate eighteen-hole golf course to a mansion of a Club House. Jack parked his car into an available slot between a BMV SUV and a tiny Mercedes convertible. Sauntering past the other meticulously detailed luxury vehicles, they made their way toward the daunting Club House.

  Lexi took in the massive arching entranceway and polished marble floors as her heels clicked noisily across the surface. The room was over-air conditioned, and smelled strongly of flowers. When she glanced around, she realized why. Hundreds of flowers of various types and colors were scattered in prearranged vases all around the entranceway. Lexi didn’t remember that from the last time she had been there, and didn’t much like it either. The whole thing made her want to sneeze.

  She followed Jack through the foyer and up to the receptionist seated behind a desk large enough to swallow her whole and covered with similar vases brimming with carnations, lilies, and tulips.

  As they approached, the aroma grew stronger and she did sneeze this time. Jack touched her arm briefly, smiling in her direction. After Jack announced their presence, he ushered her down the hall toward the colossal dining hall. Lexi glanced around her at the couples sitting in overstuffed armchairs sipping on tea and reading the newspaper. She scoffed and several heads swiveled to get a look at the interruption. She skittered down the hall after Jack. Her hand instinctively went to her hair and began threading it behind her ear repeatedly.

  Jack looked over at her and stopped moving. She took a few more steps before recognizing that he wasn’t alongside her anymore. “What?” she asked turning to face him.

  “Don’t be nervous,” he said, taking her hands away from her hair.

  “Oh yeah, well, I’ll work on that.”

  “There’s no need to be nervous.”

  Lexi shrugged not wanting to have this conversation in public. “I’m going to go to the restroom,” she said, seeing the blue sign behind his head.

  “All right, do you want me to wait?” Lexi shook her head, anxious to be alone and calm. “You’ll be able to find
me?”

  “No problem,” she said making a beeline toward sanctuary.

  After about five minutes staring apprehensively at herself in the mirror, Lexi figured it was about time to get out of there. When she walked out, she was caught off guard by the man standing just outside of the bathroom talking to a woman who couldn’t be a day under eighty. Lexi assessed the gorgeous specimen standing in front of her. She was quite certain he had one of the tightest asses she had ever seen. The suit he wore was obviously tailored for his build. An extremely muscular build, if she did say so herself. She figured he had to work out with a personal trainer…daily. His hair was a sandy blonde. Not that ugly highlighted look that so many guys were sporting, but a color that seemed infused with sunlight as if he lived at the beach.

  A look of disdain quickly crossed her face as realization hit her. It was pretty obvious that he was just another asshole country clubber like every other person here. Of course he was handsome. They bred them that way. His incredibly amazing physique was likely mandatory. His blonde hair doubtlessly was from the beach.

  No.

  Now that she thought about it, he probably owned the beach!

  She crossed her arms uncomfortably. Whoever this guy was she already didn’t like him. There was no way he had a personality. Last time she had been here, Jennifer had been the closest thing to a human being in the establishment, and God that was saying something. Just as she began to move away from the attractive man in front of her, he finished his conversation and turned around nearly knocking Lexi over.

  “Oh, sorry. Excuse me,” he said reaching out to steady her.

  “No problem,” she said coldly, backing up a step out of his comforting grasp.

  Her dark brown eyes shifted up to his extremely handsome, apologetic face. He really looked concerned. Strange. She turned away from his strong jaw line and high cheekbones, ignoring his expression. When he didn’t seem to get the hint, she returned her gaze to his face.

  “Yeah?” she asked rudely.

  “Uh…sorry…do I know you?” he skeptically asked, his eyes roaming her face.

  Lexi rolled her eyes. Was he really playing this game? That had to be the most overused line ever. Why would she know him?

  “Um…no, I don’t think so,” she said diverting her attention again. “I have to get to brunch.”

  Lexi attempted to side step him, but he cut off her path.

  “No really, I think I know you from somewhere.”

  “You’re in my way,” she pointed out to him.

  She couldn’t help how rude she was being. She wasn’t really sure why he was eliciting such a reaction either. It’s not like he had been rude to her, but Lexi didn’t want to give him the chance.

  “Oh yeah, sorry, but really we’ve met before.”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Have you ever been here before? I think it was here. Actually, I’m almost certain it was here.”

  “Just once a long time ago, but really I need to leave, and you’ve blocked my path.” Lexi didn’t want to have this conversation. She didn’t want to remember anyone she might have met that day when she had come with Jennifer.

  “Okay, yeah, I definitely remember you now,” he said cheerfully. “You came with one of my sister’s friends. But she wasn’t here, of course. I mean you wouldn’t know that. My sister went to Duke. So she wasn’t here. Which I already said. But you were here with her friend, I’m pretty sure. And man, she’s really annoying.” Lexi looked back up at him skeptically. Had he just called Jennifer annoying? Of course, Lexi thought Jennifer was annoying, but she was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to think that. “Oh no,” he said staring down at her apologetically, “I mean she’s your friend. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” She stared at him longer unable to believe what she was hearing. This guy was babbling. She was certain there was an unwritten rule somewhere preventing this from happening. “Wow, this isn’t coming out right at all.”

  Lexi looked up at him incredulously. “Right then, I’m going to go,” she said, attempting to dodge him again.

  “Oh right,” he said, seeming to step out of her way, but only blocking her path further.

  She sighed heavily, stepping in the opposite direction. He had the same idea and moved in front of her once again. He laughed heartily. Probably a little too loud for the environment. The people she had been attempting to remain invisible from turned in their direction and began staring. She cringed and pushed her hair behind her ears.

  “Okay, stop,” Lexi commanded, reaching out and grabbing his arm to prevent him from moving farther. “I’m going to go right. Just…don’t move.”

  “Who are you here with?” he asked, ignoring her demand.

  “That’s none of your business,” she snapped, extracting her hand from his suit.

  “You’re right,” he said sheepishly. “It’s just I don’t know if you remember me, which I guess you don’t, but I remember you.”

  She wasn’t sure what that meant and didn’t plan on finding out. “That’s great,” she stated sarcastically.

  “Is Jennifer here?” he asked, glancing over her shoulder to see if Jennifer was about to appear at her side.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll send her your way if I find her.”

  “So, you didn’t come here with Jennifer then?” he asked. She flinched, realizing that she had unintentionally given away a piece of information.

  “No, I didn’t. What’s it to you anyway?” Lexi demanded getting more flustered the longer she stood in front of him.

  “I’m just curious about you is all. You’ve been here before, and you came back,” he said in disbelief. “That never happens.”

  “Right, well, I see that I’m a fantastic spectacle for you to wonder about, but once again, you are in my way. I’m going to be late for brunch, and frankly, I’m starving.” Not to mention she was sure to be humiliated if she arrived a second behind schedule.

  “Oh yeah. I keep forgetting about that,” he said, bringing his hand up and scratching the back of his head thoughtfully.

  “Well, I haven’t. So…yeah…nice meeting you,” Lexi said offhandedly, finally getting herself around his solid figure.

  “But you didn’t. I didn’t even tell you my name or get yours for that matter.”

  Lexi turned letting her loose curls trail down her back. “That’s all right. I’ve survived this long without it.” He walked forward toward her. “What are you doing?” she asked throwing her hand out to stop him from walking further.

  “I can escort you to your seat,” he offered, his perfectly straight white teeth appeared as he smiled brightly at her.

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Do you even know where you are going?”

  “You don’t know where I’m going,” she reminded him. “And I’m sure I can find my way just fine, thank you.” She took another step forward and he followed her. She clenched her fists. “Jesus, why don’t you back off?” she exclaimed raising her voice for the first time.

  She regretted her actions almost instantly. The obnoxious middle-aged members, who had only been half-listening to their conversation, now went silent, and turned their full attention to her, making her cheeks burn bright red. It didn’t help that she had taken the Lord’s name in vain in the Bible belt. Goddamn it, New York had changed her! She took three calming breaths before glancing back up at him and smiling through gritted teeth.

  His smile had never wavered. Country Club manners through and through. “Well, if you are sure I can’t be of any assistance, I’ll just let you find your own way,” he said politely.

  Lexi watched him purposely walk off in the opposite direction. Clenching and unclenching her hands several times calmed her down enough to allow her to search for Jack. To be honest, she had no idea where to begin. She should have let that guy help her. But after he had been so goddamn pushy, all she wanted to do was get away. She searched around unsuccessfully before noticing Jack quickly approachin
g her.

  “Where have you been?” he asked concerned and a little annoyed.

  “I ran into someone and they wouldn’t stop talking to me,” she complained.

  “Well, let’s hurry up. We should get in there before they start taking orders,” he said, smiling down on her, his annoyance dissipating the longer he remained in her presence.

  Her throat caught as his hand rested gently on her elbow and nudged her in the appropriate direction. She had wanted things to be like this for so long. It hurt to know that the only reason she was here, the only reason he was even talking to her, was because of his girlfriend. His perfect girlfriend whom he intended to marry. His perfect girlfriend that she was about to meet. She sighed, mentally preparing herself, and followed his lead into a side room with a large gold plaque labeled Anderson, Bridges, and C. Brown.

  The dining room that Lexi entered opened onto a balcony overlooking the ninth hole fairway. Cream-colored walls and blue patterned carpet decorated the large space. Three elegant oak tables filled the area with matching cushioned chairs placed around them. Nearly all the seats were occupied, and roughly thirty people glanced up from their prearranged silverware to stare at Jack and Lexi as they entered the room. Lexi smiled repentantly and ambled after Jack to their assigned seats.

  “Sorry we took so long,” Jack said, taking his seat across from his girlfriend.

  “Uh...hi,” Lexi said, adding a tiny wave before scooting into her seat and tucking her dress underneath her.

  Lexi pulled her eyes from the table and let them rest on Bekah. She knew that she didn’t like her as soon as Lexi laid eyes on her. Bekah was definitely beautiful in a cookie-cutter sort of way. The pin-straight blond hair, Lexi had predicted she would have, was all one length cut to the middle of her back. Chunky bangs covered her forehead. Big blue eyes popped out from Bekah’s naturally beautiful face, which was hardly tainted by make-up. Lexi felt sick upon realizing that Bekah had as nearly flawless skin as Chyna. Her pale yellow, square-cut sundress was modest yet fashionable all the while accentuating her best features. Eleven millimeter white pearls dangled from her earlobes and matched the thin chain of pearls draped across her neck. What bothered Lexi the most wasn’t that she knew that this woman was one hundred percent Jack’s type, but rather that she had something that Lexi had never appeared to have.